because while some truths lend themselves to equations, others are best described in verse

Snowdragon

She is deadly and beautiful to watch.
shadowboxing, born. best
of children. seemingly
abandoned. it is hard
to understand
how it was back then, (how)
discipline comes from
love. The Sun translates keys
to unlocking these doors
as petals
of the mei hua, the plum
blossom; uses
small steps,
the power
of the elbow. maybe
too much.

This is a Found Poem from the workshop on Jan 20. Text is from an article in Inside Kung-fu, July 2005.

Mosk, “found” means the actual words (except for the parenthetical “how” in this case, and the title) came from somewhere else. I took all the other words, and in more than one case whole lines, from a kinda random article in a kung-fu magazine. 🙂 The link to the workshop probably explains it more coherently. You know what they say: mediocre poets borrow, great poets steal. 😉

thanks, claudia. i think the title is one of my favorite things about it, too. and i like that the “she” is nebulous… the original article had references to growing up in China under the regime of Chairman Mao… and even though there was no “she” in it, i think that colored the whole poem.

Dear Joanna, I liked your found poem. 🙂 I happen to be running an online found poetry collaboration via my site ArtiPeeps (a collaborative creativity site for emerging creatives from all disciplines) during March-May and I was wondering if you might like to join the collaboration? Another 3 poets are taking part. I’m firming creatives’ involvement by the middle of next week so do let me know, and then I can send you details. All good wishes. Nicky Mortlock (director of ArtiPeeps) . P.S. There’s no pressure attached to this.